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(Extract from DDA Pacific web site
www.ddapacific.co.nz )
What is Dyslexia? The Problem:
Dyslexics commonly experience great difficulty with reading, writing, spelling and mathematical symbols.
The Reasons:
Dyslexics have three defining factors in common:
- The ability to think primarily in pictures
- The ability to alter their senses (perception)
- A lower than normal threshold for confusion
Dyslexics experience great difficulty ‘thinking in words’. So, when trying to understand words that have no pictures – such as ‘if’ ‘or’ ‘but’ and the like, they become confused and disorientated.
This in turn often leads to adopting solutions to appear to learn (singing the alphabet song) and to defensive patterns of behaviour in an attempt to conceal the problem from others.
The Results:
Learning to read and write becomes a problem. Incorrect information is being absorbed and frustration is experienced when mistakes are made. To escape being trapped in a continual confused state, coping tactics (daydreaming, avoidance) are employed which hinders all ongoing learning.Because the root cause of dyslexia is not understood by those with whom dyslexics are in everyday contact, they are often treated as though they are being deliberately ‘difficult’, and at school are often labelled dumb, immature, lazy, slow or downright difficult and uncooperative.
This results in poor academic achievement, peer rejection and humiliation. Dyslexics often fail to realise their potential – despite their best efforts.
The Hidden Gift:
The dyslexic, however, has a great gift. Their picture thinking ability is often greatly enhanced and as a result they possess skills, which enable them to excel in a variety of sporting and creative fields.
The Solution:
An empathetic approach to the difficulties, a training program to give dyslexics the skills and tools to overcome their learning difficulties,
restore a sense of self-esteem and thus enable them to progress in the mainstream of education and employment
Dyslexia a gift!
Dyslexia is like a coin and as such, has two sides. On one side is the difficulties experienced with learning. The other side is the undoubted gift of enhanced picture thinking.
This gift enables us to picture things with great speed and clarity. It allows us to experience our imagination as though it were real.
The gift of dyslexia is the gift of Mastery. Dyslexics learn best when we are using our creative talents. Through hands-on experiential learning we can master concepts that become part of us – we know it because we have created the concept in the real world. This is true mastery.
The Results:
Dyslexics excel in occupations such as drama and the arts, architecture and engineering to name but a few.
In addition these talents make dyslexics:
- Good problem solvers
- Good judges of character
- Very good at sport
- Think three-dimensionally giving rise to talents in such areas as acting, computing design
- Highly intuitive
- Very curious as to how things work
- Highly aware of the environment and often notice minute details
- Original thinkers
- Have a deep sense of justice and empathy for the underdog
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